Date ArchivesApril 2010

The crazy kids over at Le Blogothèque are at it again, this time travelling to different countries along with Black XS cologne to record amazing musicians, this time calling it the Black XS Live Sound Take Away Shows. For their first installment they’ve headed to Japan to record the awesome Shugo Tokumaru perform his song Linne. It’s a beautiful little song and it’s always so enjoyable to watch these artists wander the streets performing their music.

After this they plan on heading to Turkey, Spain, Canada, England, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and end up back in France. I love that they’ve gotten a sponsor to take their idea to the next level, it’s such a great idea and so well executed.

I just wanted to write a little note saying thank you to, well, all of you. The blog actually turned 3 years old at the beginning of April but I didn’t make a fuss about it really. But it’s still amazing to me that there are so many of you out there who continue to enjoy what I’m doing, it still kind of boggles my mind. I feel like I’m just a kid who likes good design, but then I meet so many of you who really appreciate what I do and make me realize it’s more than that.

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight and supported myself, Poketo and all of the amazing Los Angeles based artists. Thanks to all of you who read the site and help make it what it is. And thanks to all my wonderful friends who came out to support me even though I’ve basically dropped off the map because I work so much. I had such an amazing night, my first art show!, and I can’t wait for the next big thing.

It’s our second big day of setting up Los Angeles, I’m Yours and things are definitely looking solid. We burnt midnight oil last night and had a lot of help from some of our friends. We had Steven Harrington stop by and drop of some of his handmade teepees, Scott Barry and Neil Doshi dropped by late to provide some last minute help and David from Driftwood brought a ton of great furniture into the space. We still feel like we have a ton to do (of course) but come 7pm tonight it’s going to look soooo amazing!

Also don’t forget to take a photo next to the giant astronaut that Brian Scott created! He’ll be representin’ at the door!

I wanted to start posting some previews of Los Angeles, I’m Yours so everyone can get a sense of what we’re up to. We’ve been busy all week putting together the show and I think it’s really starting to look great. The first image is a giant chalkboard wall we’ve got that we’re going to putting the names of the artists on as well putting some shelving to display the work.

The second is a better photo of the space showing sort of the vibe we’ve got going on. On the right you can see the giant chalkboard, then in the far right corner is going to be our swap meet display area. On the left side we’ve kind of got a more traditional gallery style wall. That being said there’s still a bunch of stuff to do but we’re confident we’ll have most of it done by tonight.

I’ll be posting more photos throughout the day so keep checking back to see what we’re up to. We might even set up a Ustream so you can see the action as it’s happening.

The image above is from Man and Space, a book published in 1964 as part of the LIFE Science Library series. I found a portion of the series in a junk shop vintage book store in Florence, Alabama. The suit is not named, so we can call it Humpty-Dumpty-goes-to-Space suit. Similar to the Grumman moon suit, I think the HDGTS suit is as much determined by scientific conjecture as it is by hopeful scientist. And by hopeful, I mean “I hope Astronaut Mike Dexter doesn’t slice his feet off.”

Last week, I learned that the crotch window of the Grumman moon suit was absolutely necessary so that the astronaut could see his feet as he walked over the moon’s irregular surface. But the HDGTS suit doesn’t allow the astronaut to see his feet, which is sad since the shoes of this moon suit are almost as stylish as the shoes of the Grumman moon suit. Hazzards abound on the moon, and while this eggcelent design protects against Gamma Rays, Cosmic Rays, and Micrometeorites, it doesn’t seem to help the astronaut avoid the hazards of his own clumsy feet.

Yet, as strange as this looks, the suit under the egg shell is actually very similar to space suits that were used by NASA. It’s basically an Apollo suit, characterized by multiple, functional layers including tubes that circulated cold water around to regulate the astronaut’s body temperature. Still, none of this explains how a cat got trapped inside the helmet.

Included in the brief and elusive biography that Portland-based artist Adam Baz has provided on his online portfolio is the comment that “he hopes to soon become unstuck in time.” Indeed, that is the feeling that he evokes in the otherworldly landscapes that comprise his series, The Eternal Myth.

As his illustrations do not generally feature any human figures, there is the sense that his detailed rural terrains possess an untainted and natural mysticism. Although Baz predominantly utilises a neutral palette to illustrate his nocturnal scenes, unexpected bursts of colour tint his works and transform them into views that look like they have come from the mind of an acid-dropping woodlands nymph. But I think that this is a very good thing. I’d love to know what you think.

Designer Kristen Lombardi reportedly made her first pair of moccasins based on the inspiration found in a boy scout book that she checked out from her local library. Her label Manimal is the very antithesis of the mass-produced, sweat shop-made goods that proliferate the market, and follows a strictly artisan philosophy that ensures that no more than three craftspeople are involved in the creation of each piece.

However, Manimal is not just about moccasins, Lombardi also designs pouches, belts, necklaces and earrings from the suede leftover from constructing her Native American-inspired booties and flats. Oh, and did I mention that some of the moccasins are animal-product free and therefore vegan friendly?

Putting aside Lombardi’s emphasis on making items with an eco-friendly conscience, her designs possess an aesthetic beauty manifest in her incorporation of clever details, such as pastel tones, fringing, beading and triangle patterns. These moccasins are not to be confused with the scuffed and filthy slippers worn by the crazy old lady that you see on the bus.

This is one of the creepiest/most intriguing videos I’ve seen in a long while now. It’s a live performance of Tiny Tim singing the song The Other Side to a bunch of little girls. The song is about the ice caps melting and all the strange things you find under the rising water. While he’s totally a huge weirdo I have to say that I think his performance of the song is kind of amazing. But just be warned, once you see this you can’t unsee it, and further more you may get this creepy song stuck in your head.